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November 29, 2012 12:19 AM

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian citizens stand near a burning truck that was destroyed by two cars bombs, at Jaramana neighborhood, in the suburb of Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/SANA)SANA

November 29, 2012 12:19 AM

Twin car bombs near Damascus kill 34

DAMASCUS, Syria -- Two suicide bombers detonated their explosives-packed vehicles near a cluster of commercial buildings in a suburb of Damascus Wednesday, killing at least 34 people and covering the street with pools of blood and debris.

The latest carnage to hit an area populated by religious minorities who support President Bashar Assad further raises concerns of a growing Islamic militant element among the forces seeking to topple him.

The morning rush hour bombings in the suburb of Jaramana, just a few miles southeast of Damascus, were the latest to hit the overwhelmingly pro-regime town. The twin blasts appeared designed to maximize damage and casualties and bore the hallmarks of radical Muslim groups fighting alongside other rebel units in Syria.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings, but Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida-inspired extremist group that has become one of Syria's most potent and organized rebel groups, has claimed numerous suicide bombings in the past, mostly targeting regime forces and security installations.

Riots injure 177 protesters in central Tunisian town

TUNIS, Tunisia -- A strike in a low-income region of Tunisia has degenerated into a second day of clashes between police and protesters, leaving 177 people injured, including some seriously, a hospital official said Wednesday.

A local labor union organized a general strike in Siliana, a poor town in Tunisia's interior, on Tuesday to protest a lack of jobs and government investment. Witnesses say police violently dispersed a peaceful march to the city hall for the second day in a row.

Red Square bomb plotter gets 15 years in jail

MOSCOW -- A man whose plot to cause carnage on Moscow's iconic Red Square was thwarted by a spam phone message was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in jail.

Ilyas Saidov, a member of an underground Islamist group, brought explosives-laden belts disguised as heaters for two female suicide bombers on a bus from his native Dagestan, a southern province in the Caucasus region.

But just hours before they were to detonate the bombs on New Year's Eve, 2010, a belt attached to a cell phone exploded after the detonator was activated by a spam message, killing one of the women and prompting the arrest of the other.

Saidov pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, giving up the leader and several members of his underground Islamist group.